(New York, NY) August 17, 2017–“The German”, the chilling 2011 horror/suspense novel by Lee Thomas, a Bram Stoker and two-time Lambda Literary Award winner, is about to become a feature film. While "The German" was set in post WWII small town America, the film incarnation is about a Syrian and takes place in present day, Trump era U.S.A.-U.S.A.-U.S.A.

English novelist C. P. Snow once observed, “Civilization is hideously fragile...there's not much between us and the Horrors underneath, just about a coat of varnish.” It is this theme that Lee Thomas so brilliantly explored in his 2011 novel “The German,” and which production company Loose Canon Films plans to exploit their screen adaptation, “Perpetual.”

Part “Fargo," part “Brokeback Mountain,” part “Stranger Things,” part “Mississippi Burning,” “Perpetual”, tells the story of small town tensions erupting into scenes of vicious vigilante vengeance as a sheriff hunts down a brutal killer who leaves Islamist calling cards in the remains of his victims, insinuating a private Holy War against America. As the town searches for answers, all eyes turn toward a reclusive foreigner, living in their midst. In a subtle, supernatural twist, the main character is not only Syrian and gay, but also immortal, blessed/cursed with eternal life. (Full synopsis below.)

People Are Monsters

“When I first read Lee's novel when it was published back in 2011, I thought it was great... but kind of as a measure of how far society had progressed since the 1940s more than anything, says filmmaker Andy Collier of Loose Canon Films. “I believed we were (mostly) way beyond the kind of unashamed, mass hysterical descent into hatred and bigotry examined in the novel. But then Brexit happened. And then Trump happened. And the far right was suddenly emboldened, and the clock was suddenly wound back, and the book became chillingly topical again.”

Loose Canon Films partner Tor Mian adds, “In updating the novel to a contemporary setting, what we found most remarkable is how timeless these issues unfortunately are.”

“It was clear from the outset that Loose Canon understood my novel, ‘The German,’ and even though they've modernized the story, they have done so with great care and intelligence,” said author Lee Thomas of the adaptation of his novel. “Andy and Tor are smart filmmakers, and I think they're going to do a fantastic job with the material.”

Out Canadian-British stage and screen actor Ross Mullan, now most famous for his role as the White Walker* on “Game of Thrones” (seasons 2 – 4), was the first to sign on and will play one of the deputies in the Sheriff's team.

“When I first heard that Loose Canon Films were adapting the “The German” to the screen I was immediately captivated,” Mullan says. “Their decision to adapt it to our modern world is a stroke of genius. Never has there been a better time to address the core issues of prejudices and homophobia that are rife in its storyline. It is rare to find a thrilling story with such a strong political message. I am very much looking forward to being involved in the project.”

“Perpetual will shoot next year in northern Utah, with the kind support of the Utah Film Office,” says Loose Canon’s Collier. “We are working to get this film together in record time, as we believe it's a story that will have huge impact given the current political situation.” •

The Dark Side of Americana

Not only is "Perpetual" the very modern western gothic horror story of a small town’s descent into racism, homophobia, xenophobia and resulting terror, “Perpetual” is also a blistering commentary on the insidious dark side of Americana.

With the brutal arrival of Trump, the Left’s delusional, myopic, and smug pride acquired living in the “enlightened,” “post-racial” and “post-homophobic” America of the Obama years was ripped away like a scab. In its place, a rude awakening to the Right’s equally delusional and irrational fear of “the other”—racial, religious, gender, sexual–and willingness to justify bigotry, violence and evil towards those we’re convinced are inferior, subhuman, or at least sub-us.

In small towns across the U.S., the American flag, once a benign symbol of an ideal, is now, in the Trump era, a symbol of fear, ignorance, and hatred. The USA-USA-USA chant, a verbal wall. In the aftermath of racial violence and the shockingly voluminous bald-faced turnouts, many no longer wonder, but now know that their neighbors indeed wish them harm, or even death.

What’s worse is that the evil is invisible until it’s too late to avoid. As the restaurateur who recently booted a group of Neo Nazis out of his Charlottesville restaurant said, one of the guys in the group was "dressed like an everyday dude," meaning, most terrifyingly of all, hate walks among us.

“Perpetual” Full Synopsis

Summer 2018. A killer preys on the young men of a quiet western town. The murders are calculated, vicious, and they are just beginning. Sheriff Fran Rabbit and her men are baffled and the community she serves is terrified of the monster lurking their streets.

The only clues the killer leaves behind are painted trinket boxes containing notes written in Arabic, insinuating a private Holy War against America. As the panic builds all eyes turn toward a quiet man with secrets of his own. Ziad Al-Ahmadi fled Iraq in 2014. Once a brute, a soldier, a leader of Saddam's genocidal Republican Guard, he has renounced aggression and embraces a peaceful obscurity.

But Ziad is haunted by an impossible past. He remembers his own execution after being exposed as a homosexual and the extremes of sex and violence that led to it. He remembers the men he led into battle, the men he seduced, and the men who betrayed him. But are these the memories of a man given a second life, or the delusions of a lunatic?

About Loose Canon Films and Hydra Films RKM

Loose Canon Films (Andy Collier and Ross Sciafe) and Hydra Films RKM (Tor Mian and Sean Knopp) were set up in 2010/2012 as genre film production companies and have collaborated on a number of projects, most recently the critically well received horror/thriller "Charismata" (website/trailer) which will be on general release in Spring of 2018.

Tor Mian is the award winning writer/director of the films 'The Sky In Bloom' and 'The Milky Way'. His most recent feature film 'Charismata' was co-written and co-directed with Andy Collier and is due for a spring 2018 release.

Andy Collier is an award winning producer and director who has worked closely with Mian since 2012. Most recently he directed the TV adaptation of Michael Marshal Smith's "The Seventeenth Kind", and co-wrote/co-directed the feature film "Charismata."

About Lee Thomas, author of “The German,” inspiration for “Perpetual”

Lee Thomas is a Bram Stoker Award winner, and a two-time Lambda Literary Award winning author of more than 25 books, including “The German,” “Torn,” “The Dust of Wonderland,” and his latest, “Down on Your Knees,” which currently available at all online retailers. www.leethomasauthor.com

*Mullan played the White Walker who arrives on the horse at the end of Season 2 (most watched season finale in tv history since J.R. got shot says People mag.) and gets killed by Sam in Season 3.